« The Final Days before Graduation | Main | Goodbye and How to Reach Me »
May 19, 2006
The Next Steps--and word from Stanford GSB
Hi, everyone! Since I haven't quite figured out how to include real pictures, I thought I might give you a peek at my oh-so-cute avatar. That's pretty close to what I look like, and once I figure out how to get pictures on here, I will surely start prettying up this blog.
So I graduated! It was wonderful taking a ridiculous amount of pictures with my friends and family, and my dinner--while a bit hectic--was also very nice. Click here to see some pictures! I was also honored to win a number of awards. I received the Black Studies Dept. Prize as well as the prize for the Outstanding Thesis in Black Studies. I was also awarded the Ada May Fitts prize, which is awarded annually to "a woman member of the graduating class for outstanding intellectual leadership and influence on other students at the College". I was really honored because the award comes from a nomination by your peers. Overall, my three graduation prizes ended up being a $1000! This is really great, because I wasn't even expecting this money and now my savings account is replenished from a year of too much shopping. Although it was really hard at times, going to Pomona was a really great choice for me. If anyone has family members in the college admissions process, Pomona College is a great place for them to consider.
Saying goodbye to my boyfriend was hard, but I'll see him in no less than 53 days--not that I'm counting or anything. We've embarked on the dreaded long distance relationship, and it hasn't been easy so far. Kevin's 8-5 work schedule combined with the 2-hour time difference makes talking on the phone a little of a hassle. I need to get in the swing of doing all the romantic activities that the guidebooks to long distance relationships suggest. It'll be like we're courting again. (Yes, I said courting)
The drive home from school with my dad was fun. It seemed to drag on towards the end, but we enjoyed snacking on convenience store food, commenting on the desert scenery, and trying to see who could hover around 10 miles above the speed limit the best. One of my favorite games we played was "Let's try and get wireless internet." Once one of us got connected, we would try and drive near whatever source we thought was transmitting the signal. My main interest in getting internet access was that I was waiting for my decision from Stanford GSB.
After multiple failed attempts at driving alongside the FedEx truck to check my email, I finally called my boyfriend and asked him to check for me. It was a no. I figured as much since I hadn't received a phone call from them. Basically, they admitted very few applicants from the waitlist this round. I was disappointed only minutely. It was more of a satisfaction of my curiosity of whether or not I got in. I'd been encouraged to keep my options open, and now I know for sure that Stanford is not an option.
So it's final! I'll be going to HBS for Business School, while also pursuing a joint MPP degree at the Kennedy School of Government. I'm glad to finally have it decided, and now the next step on my B-school journey is to get it paid for! I plan on applying to the Zuckerman Fellowship which is a generous full-tuition scholarship (with a stipend!) for joint degree students between KSG and other graduate schools. I was a semifinalist for this one before I had to withdraw my application. Since you can't defer funding like that, I was applying in the wrong year. I also applying to the Reynolds Fellowship, which is also full-tuition with a stipend for students interested in social entrepreneurship. Since I wrote my thesis on social entrepreneurship and won a prize for it, I'm very hopeful about my candidacy.
So now that I'm home, I've been spending time with my family, my friends, and preparing for NYC. I found out that I will actually be interning at both ABFE (Association of Black Foundation Executives) and HIP (Hispanics in Philanthropy). They're in the same building, so that facilitates collaboration. I contacted Dan, the intern who worked there last year, and he was absolutely in love with the place. He gave me the very good news that I will have great two great bosses, my assignments will be interesting, and that I get free lunch everyday! My housing at the School of Visual Arts is also a mere .4 miles from my internship, so it's really just the best thing ever. I am really excited about this summer. I think it's going to be great.
Shopping for work clothes has been an adventure. Although I consider myself pretty fashionable, I really did not know what was appropriate for work! I bought a whole wardrobe of clothes and had 80% of the items vetoed by my friend Kevin Curry who has been in the work world for a few years, knows my sense of style, and is young enough for me to listen to his advice on work attire. However, yesterday I had a very successful shopping day at Target, Gap, and Old Navy buying high-quality and cute clothes for work. Part of the issue is that I have very full thighs and a fairly small waist, so clothes that fit my waist were stretched thinly (and apparently inappropriately) around my thighs. Thanks to Gap's Curvy line, I found pants that flatter my figure. Now all I need to buy is shoes and belts.
By my next entry, I will be living it up in New York City!
Posted by kaneisha at May 19, 2006 05:04 PM